Enjoying French Café Culture: Sip, Savor, Linger

Recipe for Chocolate Mendiants | March 2025

A few weeks before my move to Bordeaux, I met two dear friends for coffee at a local shop in my childhood town. The only option that wasn’t Starbucks offered a single outside table with three chairs overlooking a busy parking lot. A line of to-and-from patrons brushed our backs as we reminisced, sipping from styrofoam.

Everyone seemed to be in a hurry or lost in their phones, filling the air with loud exclamations, and jumping into their vehicles with large sugary concoctions. The thought of quietly relaxing with a hot espresso seemed to be missing on the daily agenda. I couldn’t help but wish my friends were seated with me in France as I tried to ignore the impending time for their return to busy lives.

Grabbing coffee on the run, swinging through the drive-thru for a latte, or hurrying back to work after a short break is the all too familiar American norm. Even in larger cities with an abundance of coffee houses that offer outdoor seating and cozy indoor corners, with free wifi and freshly baked goods, daily visits are seen as an indulgence. Instead of truly savoring the moment, I too have always felt the need to finish, leave, or get moving on other tasks of the day.

I can’t help but compare the alarming difference between this hurried coffee order—rushing to finish my drink with friends and free up the only available seats—to the moments I’ve spent lingering at a French café.

If you’ve spent time in France, you’re surely aware of the many sidewalk lined tables and chairs inviting you to just sit and stay a while. Those empty chairs are so enticing, aren’t they? All cute and French with colorful woven bands, signalling a pause from the day, a moment to gaze off in thought, a chance to laugh with a friend, or enjoy your favorite drink without a timer. Those little café chairs mean so much more than just a place to sit.

---

French Café Culture

I love the ‘no rush’, enjoy a drink, and gaze upon the passing energy of the French café culture. At anytime of day, you’ll find tables adorned with espresso cups, wine glasses, and sodas, spilling out onto corners and sidewalks, lit by the sun, or tucked in the shade of an umbrella. Whether its warm and bright, pouring rain, or freezing cold, the French are taking time out of their day to unwind.

I’ve seen women in heavy wool coats and high heels pleasantly sipping glasses of wine, seated outside in winter temperatures without the slightest care of seeing their breath, nor catching a cold. Couples with dogs tangled at their feet enjoying a mid-morning coffee, next to book lovers deep in a novel with croissant crumbs on their pants. Even when the rain begins to fall, many don’t seem to mind, continuing to warm their chair as the clouds slowly pass. People of all ages gather throughout the day and into the night as if it were inescapable.

These eclectic establishments aren’t just places to reload on caffeine and carbs, they’re social institutions and part of everyday life. From large city to sleepy village, all French cafés serve an unlimited menu of acceptance and time with a side of foot traffic entertainment.

Café or Bistro?

While both bistros and cafes offer simple affordable food and drinks in petite dining spaces with an overflow of outdoor seating, bistros take it up a notch providing full meals to patrons. Cafés on the other hand tend to serve more lighter fare like small desserts and snacks that pair with a spirit or hot drink.

You can certainly stop at a bistro for just an espresso or glass of wine (some double as a café), but be sure its not peak lunch or dinner hours as those seats are often held for patrons who wish to manger (eat). During non meal hours the kitchen may be closed, but drinks are always served.

---

What to Sip and When

One of the most distinctive features of French café culture that I’ve come across, is the expectation that different types of coffee should be consumed at different times of the day. It has been declared to me that milk filled coffees are solely for the morning to accompany your breakfast or pastry, while the classic espresso is its most fashionable self served solo or to conclude a meal.

Below are a few of the more common items found on a French café menu and the preferred time of day at which to order them. Sorry, there are no frappuccinos or caramel iced lattes available…we’re here to savor the quality coffee right? (well, actually not hardly any iced options now that I’m thinking about it)

Coffee creamer has yet to make an appearance to me in France, leaving milk and a pinch of sugar to do the bitter lifting.

Boissons Chaudes (hot drinks)

un café

• a small espresso

• enjoyed anytime of day

• never with a meal, always after

• let’s be clear, croissants and all other pastries do not count as a meal and should be joined with un café

• a pinch of raw sugar and an amaretti cookie are a must

un café allongé

• a longer espresso, similar to an Americano

• ordered morning and afternoon

un café crème

• espresso with steamed milk, closest to a latte

• sometimes ordered as a ‘café au lait’ or cappuccino

• ordered at breakfast or brunch

• Not to be ordered after 11am, remember milky coffee is for the morning

• I’ve definitely gone full American with an afternoon cappuccino, don’t tell anyone!

un noisette

• espresso with a splash of hot foamy milk (my current go-to)

• similar to an Italian macchiato

• called ‘noisette’ as the added milk gives it a hazelnut color, not flavor

• ordered in the morning or after lunch

un thé

• herbal infused teas

• each café will have an assortment of options

• drink at breakfast, brunch, or afternoon

un chocolat chaud

• thick, rich hot chocolate

• served during the winter and holidays

• check our my easy recipe for chocolat chaud

Boisson and Vin (drinks and wine)

citron pressé

• a mix your own lemonade

• served as fresh pressed lemon juice in a glass, along with a small bottle of water and sugar packet

• with brunch or lunch

• sip with a small dog seated in your lap while wearing large dark sunglasses, tres chic

un pastis

• anise-flavored liqueur

• enjoyed in the afternoon or early evening

un verre de vin

• ballon de rouge, ballon de blanc (house red or white wine)

• a glass of champagne

• with lunch, in the afternoon, or with dinner

une bière pression

• draft and local beer

• with lunch, in the afternoon, or with dinner

cocktails

• usually basic mixtures

• more often for apéro or happy hour

• cocktail bars, bistros, and restaurants offer more extensive options

casse croûte or un goûter

• a small afternoon snack or light bite

• pastry, bread, piece of chocolate, olives, nuts

• small demi-baguette sandwich

---

How to Linger like the French

Order Slowly

Classic café service in France is not an assembly line of frantic baristas hoping to dwindle down a line of relentless orders. Instead, the French don’t expect fast service and appreciate the courtesy of quietly enjoying their break without constant check-ins. (I must say this is one of my favorite aspects of French culture.)

Choose an establishment with plenty of seating options and avoid the counter only orders if you can. Upon sitting down, take a moment to decide your drink of choice and get comfortable, be patient someone will come along. (You’re not in a hurry remember?)

If you must order at the counter, ask for a cup or mug to forego the additional waste of a disposable one.

No Need to Rush

Unlike in some countries where cafés are for quick stops, due to long lines, lack of seating and no table service, in France, they are for staying. You can sit for hours with only one drink and no pressure to leave, unless of course they are closing.

Whether you have 30 minutes or an hour allotted for your café stop, take in the moment. Relax and enjoy yourself.

Observe

Foot traffic is the main show at most sidewalk cafés, I find quietly watching the world around you to be an incredible de-stresser. Grab a seat outside or near the window offering a front row view to a dynamic live show.

No Laptops, so sorry

Of course there are indoor spaces that offer wifi and you may spot an occasional student or professional quietly working at a screen. But, French cafés are not co-working spaces. This is where you come for social connection, quiet reading, and contemplation. I see far more people with a book, coffee, and a cigarette than I ever do an open laptop. (I’ll not mention cell-phones at this time.)

---

Make Chocolate Mendiants

French mendiants are a popular Christmas treat, consisting of chocolate discs topped with dried fruit and nuts. I love gifting chocolate to my new friends in France, and these little confections are quite easy to make at home.

We don’t all have time and energy to temper chocolate for perfect candy, so don’t feel the need to do so with these. I melt Lindt 100% Excellence chocolate bars made with 70% cocoa without over heating, then pipe or spoon the chocolate onto parchment paper in little circles, and finish with assorted toppings.

Ingredients

• 200 grams 70% dark chocolate, high quality, chopped into small pieces

• mixed nuts

• dried fruit

• candied ginger or orange peel

• dried flowers

• black sesame seeds

• flaky sea salt

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw 1.5 inch (~4 cm) circles with a pencil onto the paper. If you’re handy with piping or don’t care about perfect circles just skip the pencil outlines.

2. Arrange your toppings next to the pan, so you can place them on the chocolate discs before they harden.

3. Place the chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl and create a double broiler (bane marie) by placing the bowl over a smaller saucepan of barely filled simmering water on medium low heat.

4. Careful not to let any water into the bowl with the chocolate or it will seize. Simmering water should also not touch the bottom of the bowl, only the condensation.

5. Using a silicone spatula, gently stir the chopped chocolate until “half” has melted. Remove the bowl from the double broiler, wipe off the bottom of the bowl with a towel and place it on the counter.

6. Continue to stir the chocolate until the remaining half has melted and is smooth and shiny.

7. Set a plastic piping bag inside a tall glass and fill it with the melted chocolate. Twist the top to close the opening and push the chocolate towards the tip.

8. Snip the end of the piping bad at the tip and pipe the chocolate to fill the circles on the parchment paper.

9. Add the toppings to the just-piped chocolate rounds before the chocolate sets.

10. Allow the mendiants to firm for about 10 minutes before lifting them from the paper with an offset spatula.

11. Store at room temperature.

---

New Bakes on Two Cups Flour

*My seasonal baking blog, featuring approachable breakfast, breads, and desserts.

Bakery style peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies made with creamy peanut butter, brown sugar, and chunks of dark chocolate. These no chill, soft peanut butter cookies with crispy edges are filled with chunks of rich dark chocolate

Two layer fluffy Vanilla Bean Cake enhanced with vanilla syrup and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream frosting. A light, moist cake with wonderful vanilla flavor in every bite.

---